Heading into the APEC summit in Beijing next week, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ambitions are not all aligned with those of President Barack Obama.

This city, like other capitals around the world, watched this week as U.S. President Barack Obama suffered major Democratic Party losses at the polls. The result—a “weakened” U.S. government, as some Japanese media are labeling it—will deepen the perception that U.S. allies must do more on their own to help maintain stability in Asia.